In 1616 the Dutch acquired Demerara and Essequibo (present-day Guyana) which was lost to
Britain in 1803. The W.I.C. was established in 1621.
In 1625 it took possession of Nieue Nederland (New Netherlands, lost to England 1664), in 1630 of North-eastern
Brazil (lost in 1654/1661). The W.I.C. also held possessions in Africa.
In 1630 the W.I.C. took possession of part of Sint Maarten, in 1632 of Sint Eustatius and
Saba, 1634 of Curaçao, Aruba and
Bonaire. It also temporarily held Tobago (1628-1637, 1654-1677) and part of the Virgin Islands.
In 1667 The Sociëteit van Suriname (Society of Suriname; W.I.C. shareholder) took possession of Suriname. The first W.I.C. went bankrupt in
1674 to be replaced by the G.W.I.C. (second W.I.C.) which was dissolved in 1792,
and her assets fell to the Dutch Republic; administrated as Suriname
and Curaçao (i.e. the Netherlands Antilles).